Doug Liman Aims At Two-Gun Cohen

Con man turns bodyguard in '20s China

Doug Liman Aims At Two-Gun Cohen

by James White |
Published on

Tackling real-life burned spy drama Fair Game has clearly stirred something in Doug Liman as he’s now developing a film about Two-Gun Cohen, a man with an intriguing true-life tale.

Matt Brown will write the script, which follows the adventures of Morris “Two-Gun” Cohen, who was born in London, fought in World War One and then took a chance by moving to China in 1922 and nabbing a job training then-leader Sun Yat-sen’s army in boxing and shooting.

But according to the director, this wasn’t some straight-arrow soldier looking to help out his fellow man. “He’s a thief and a con man who goes to China with visions of self-aggrandizement, but while he’s there he falls for the country and for a woman. The story falls off the shelf without having to twist the facts.” Liman tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s almost hard to believe it happened.”

Despite his chancer past, Cohen became one of Sun’s trusted elite bodyguards, eventually surviving his employer and going on to help China fight the invading Japanese forces in the 1930s and working for British Intelligence.

Still, even though the movie will have the backing of Rob Reiner, Alan Greisman and Beijing Galloping Horse, the production company that is helping get John Woo’s Flying Tigers on to screens, there are pitfalls ahead if Liman and co runs afoul of China’s sensitive censors. Especially given some scenes will take place as the Communist regime is first rising.

It remains to be seen if it actually gets off the ground, but it’s certainly an interesting move for the director…

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